During vehicle manufacturing, it is necessary to conduct various tests of the newly made vehicles to ensure that the vehicles operate satisfactorily. Among the quality assurance tests conducted during vehicle manufacturing is testing of the vehicle's electrical system, after it has been installed in the vehicle.
In existing vehicle assembly plants, electrical testing is conducted at an electrical test segment of the assembly line that is dedicated solely to the electrical testing. As vehicles are transported on the assembly line through the electrical testing segment, large, monument-like electrical test consoles are moved along with the vehicles on a trolley that is parallel to the assembly line. Each console is connected to a cable, and the cable terminates in a plug that a test technician can engage with a test socket underneath a vehicle's dashboard. Once a console has been connected to a vehicle via the cable, the console executes a series of tests of the vehicle's electrical system as the trolley moves the console along the assembly line with the vehicle.
While effective for its intended purpose, the above-described system requires a portion of the assembly line be dedicated to electrical testing. This consumes space in the assembly plant that could otherwise be used for other purposes. Also, the above-described system requires large test consoles and accompanying trolleys to move the consoles, which is expensive. Further, the cables that connect the consoles to the vehicles can cause interference with nearby equipment and people.
Additionally, if a vehicle fails a test, the vehicle must be taken off the assembly line, repaired, and retested. To retest the vehicle, it must be placed back on the assembly line and transported to the electrical test segment of the line, which is time consuming. In other words, the throughput of the assembly plant is reduced each time a vehicle requires retesting.
Moreover, it might happen that vehicles which have been tested and then moved out of the assembly building require modification or repair, in which case all of the affected vehicles must be moved back into the building, onto the assembly line, and then retested at the electrical test segment of the line. Such an event can severely reduce the throughput of the assembly plant.
The present invention recognizes the above cost, space, and throughput drawbacks of existing electrical test systems. Fortunately, the present invention further recognizes that it is possible to alleviate these problems using the inventive structures and methods disclosed herein.
In addition to the above considerations, the present invention recognizes that certain other advances can be made in vehicle electrical testing. In particular, the present invention recognizes that it would be advantageous to monitor the current flow from a vehicle's battery as, e.g., the electrically-powered window motors of the vehicle are being tested, to determine whether a window is encountering mechanical interference with another vehicle component such as the door trim surrounding the window. Still further, the present invention recognizes that electrical test setpoints are currently hard-wired and consequently cannot be easily changed by technicians at the assembly plant, and that this reduces the flexibility and maintainability of the test system.
And, prototypes of a vehicle's electrical system, colloquially referred to as "wiring bucks", cannot easily be tested using the same test system that is used to test manufactured vehicles on an assembly line. This is unfortunate, because deficiencies in a vehicle model's electrical system might be discovered more easily, and the test protocol for a model be validated more efficiently, if the wiring buck of a vehicle model could be tested using the same test system that is to be used on production vehicles.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electrical test system for vehicle manufacturing quality assurance.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical test system for vehicle manufacturing quality assurance that uses portable components.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical test system for vehicle manufacturing quality assurance that can be used anywhere in a vehicle assembly plant.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical test system for vehicle manufacturing quality assurance that measures the electric current flow of a vehicle battery during electrical testing, to provide a further diagnostic indicator of the vehicle's electrical system.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical test system for vehicle manufacturing quality assurance that can be used on a wiring buck.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical test system for vehicle manufacturing quality assurance that permits test setpoints to be changed using software at an assembly plant.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical test system for vehicle manufacturing quality assurance that is easy to use and cost-effective.